Dreaming of Thanksgiving

I know....it's two months away, but seeing all of the delicious looking root vegetables and squash hitting the markets is making my head spin with all of the possibilities for my Thanksgiving Feast! After nine months on a plant based diet, I find that very few imitation meats actually taste good to me. After cleansing the ol' pallette for a while now I taste the processed-ness (I made that word up) of fake meats so much more. I still enjoy some of them of course (I'm looking at you Trader Joe's Vegetable Massala Burgers and Chicago Diner's Stupidly Delicious Gyros), but Tofurky-meh. I think I will pass this year, because there are many more new dishes I would rather try!

Meet some early contenders:
Guacamame (Guac-ah-mom-ay)

Source and Vegan Planet Blog Guacamame Recipe

Oh yes, this is a combination dip of avacado and edamame that comes from Robin Robertson's Carb Conscious Vegetarian Cookbook. As we know I think edamame hummus is divine (you can buy it at Trader Joe's if you aren't into making your own). I am excited to try this. I like the twist, and it seems like a great dip to bring to a party. Frankly, it just has a fun name.

Ina Garten's Roasted Butternut Squash Soup and Curry Condiments

Source and Recipe

Is she trying to freakin' kill me with sweet and savory delightfulness?! I am almost scared to try this because I may die of happiness! A simple switch of chicken broth to veggie broth and this soup will be mine!

Root Vegetable Cassoulet

Source and Recipe

Apologies for the blurry pic. This dish is one of my pretend friend Alicia Silverstone's featured Thanksgiving dishes on The Kind Life. It was shared with her by the folks at Foodink Catering. Haven't you wondered what you could do with those adorable mini pumpkins you see everywhere this time of year (besides sit them on your desk or dining room table or mantle until they rot)? You can stuff them with vegetable goodness and fill your belly, that's what!

Maple Giner Roasted Vegetables with Pecans

Source and Recipe

This recipe came to me via the archives of an awesome mom/gardening/crafting/artist blog called Dig This Chick (a pal of the life-loving and inspriational Kelle Hampton.) Look at those beautiful brussel sprouts! It is of course apparent that I want almost everything I eat to be sweet and savory. NOM!

One thing to note about all of these delectable looking dishes is that they are all made with clean natural ingredients. While I don't need to down a ton of maple syrup, it's such a wonderful natural sweetener that won't wreck my system. I won't feel a trace amount of guilt eating any of these dishes. Beautiful.

Stay tuned for more contenders as we count down to Thanksgiving!